Ere The Apostate Comes (Graded)

[Aylune]

82nd of Ymiden

What a treacherous season. The storms that blew on through had all the Aesir in a bind. Whatever they’d done, animals and man alike were afflicted with rage, and now North had come to find the mages too had been impacted. Those murderers, those apostates! They Flayed several bodies and then fled like bandits to the Myrkvior of all places! Now, they bring that corruption to the place he calls home? He wouldn't stand for it. He would kill to keep the forest cleansed.

North’s mentor and Aesir superior Ragnum told him Eulysses had been spotted in the area the night before, a Defier who Flayed his wife, another Defier. The man was extremely dangerous, and North was not to engage him without assistance. Yet, here North was, following the scent of Ether downwind, figuring he’d find a mage near a Fracture. That indescribable smell permeated much of the forest tonight, but everything smelled of Ether shortly after the Etherstorm.

Carefully stepping down a steep muddy hill, the wolf hopped and scrambled up some rocks, starting to trudge off the path. He felt as if he was being watched here, in this magical place. Few wandered so deep into the Myrkvior, fearing the Mother’s vixen bite and her many children. North held great respect for the Induk of these woods and he muttered a prayer to her, those words growled and deep with the warped voice of wolf and man melding together by magickal means.

“O’eth of her silken touch,
to baby in her bosom,
she holds her love for us,
the children of the forest hum.”

Turning his head, he closed his eyes, listening to the forest, letting it permeate his nostrils. The birds no longer sang here. A Fracture was nearby, he was sure of it. What kind, though? Filled with monsters, or merely strange happenings?

Well, if I find a monster and it’s not the mage, I know they’re not around. At least, not alive. Climbing the hill, he found an old run the deer used to use to flee from wolves, sniffing along with his nose pressed to the dirt. A few more meters, and he saw that the trees had blackened, stripped of leaves, and glassy tumors of otherworldly fungus glowed vibrantly on the trees.

“Ohh Myrkvior, hold me safe. My mother, I venture to dangerous ground to quell the evil afoot in your forest...” he said, feeling eerily off. That was when he noticed a boot print in the mud in front of him, and some torn brush leading further up the hillside he was able to follow. The wind was so calm; North’d never felt it this silent outside of a dream before. Chilling.

[Tio Silver]

Tio raised him arms like a conductor before an orchestra, feeling the power of his defiance spark course through his veins. He called to the earth before him, asking it to move to his will, and in reply two pillars of rock slowly sprouted from the ground, bending to the side as they rose up and met together to form an arch. Tio then drew spiraling patterns in the air with his finger, which formed across the smooth surface of the rock. It was not his most decorative work he'd admit, but the simplicity of it had a charm of its own. The arch before him was roughly the size and shape of a door, and although it might have looked like a sculpture from afar the perfect smoothness of it was betrayed that it was magical in origin.

Kicking off from the ground, Tio floated up to the top of the arch and pressed his thumb against it. He concentrated hard, envisioning the identical archway he'd built within his dreamscape and forging a connecting between his two creations. Where his thumb touched the surface a five pointed star mark appeared, glowing with a bright silver light, before fading into the stone. His brand had been set upon the archway, transforming it into a doorway into his dreamscape.

The thought to create a doorway here in the woods around Melrath had come to mind after the events that'd taken place on Ymiden the 45th. That trial had proven to Tio that Melrath was an interesting place; after all what wasn't there to love about a land where spirits roamed about the place causing mischief? Swinging by every once in a while might give him the opportunity to learn more about how exactly the mysterious powers of the spirits worked. Deciding to check to make sure that the doorway worked the way it should, Tio cleared his throat and began to recite the passwords to open it.

"Roses are one colour,
Violets another.
I think of you,
Whilst I'm ploughing you mo-."

He cut off his chant as his attunement spark flickered inside him, warning him that Omnivision had detected something moving nearby. It was hard to tell what exactly it was from this distance, but the general outline of it gave away that fact that it was humanoid in figure. Was it one of the locals? Perhaps they were going to loot the fracture nearby? A cheeky smirk ghosted across his lips. Because of his mask and ability to float like some sort of ghost a few of the locals had mistaken him for a spirit recently, and messing around with them had proven to be hugely entertaining. Perhaps he should go mess with this one too? The doorway wasn't exactly going anywhere after all.

Floating higher into the air until his feet skimmed the tips of the trees, Tio headed over to where the human was walking. It wasn't long before he caught sight of the human up ahead: a young, brown haired man wearing a cloak of black feathers. Silently Tio hovered a bit closer, and then called upon his defiance spark. He fed a trickle of his ether into it, and when the spark flared to life in answer he guided it to make the calm wind surrounding the man twist around him eerily.

"Woooooo! Go no further mortal!" He called out in a pantomime ghost-voice. "You trespass upon the sacred ground of the great and mighty Silver, the spirit of this place. If you wish to pass through my land, you must make an offering!"

[Aylune]

Somewhere along the journey, North had taken the form of his true self to better handle the terrain. His hands were now muddied with fresh earth, North lifted himself up the hilly trail to an uneven but straightforward patch of pathway. His eyes glanced around, suspicious and alert so close to what he was sure must have been a Fracture. Closer now, he could smell it in the air even without the keen senses of a wolf.

When he saw a shadow on the forest floor, his mind didn't register, not at first. A moment passed, and he heard a disturbance in the wind, the trees beginning to rustle with an air he felt strangely disconnected from. It was the same feeling he felt when trying to wrest the elements away from his Mentor. Defiance?

Eyes peering up, he stopped, raising his arms and lowering his knees as he saw a man simply floating there, a strange mask covering his face, and an equally otherworldly outfit. "What?" North muttered, brow tightening with puzzled thoughts. North felt a compulsion buzzing away in his mind, his Spark warning him to flee; he took a step back, careful not to fall down the hill. Do I fly? he wondered.

North, his Ose Bori Familiar began, standing upon his shoulder invisible to the naked eye. Run? I cannot tell if it is a girl, or a boy, and I like the way it dresses, so it must be a monster.

No... not yet, South.

North heavily considered it, but he spotted some logic to the situation that helped him to rest the unease he now felt. This was a Defier, near to a Fracture, and quite insane by presentation. However, Eulysses would have outright attacked him, nor did he hear that the man wore a mask with no eye holes to see from. Lastly... "I can feel the spirits," he said with a shake of his head, "and you are not a spirit. A ghost or some Fracture monster, maybe, but I think you are simply a man with curious qualities. If your mask were Melrathi make, I know no craftsman who would not carve an Embla into something so personal. " A pause, as North took a moment to study the man further.

"As you have introduced yourself, so shall I." The raven-cloaked man raised his arms and lifted his cloak to bow. "North, of the Aesir. I am hunting a mage, a Defier by the name of Eulysses whom has commited the crime of Flaying an innocent, his own wife. These are difficult times, Silver, and I do not have the patience for games. I have no quarrel with you; If you wish for something, be forthright. Whoever you are, the air seems to be a friend of yours, and the air is a friend of mine. Perhaps we, too, could share friendly skies." Straightening out, he peered up with a single eye from his cloak, the totems dangling around his neck now visible against the blackened leathers covering his chest.

Even now, North felt inclined to run, to fly. His fist tightened beneath his cloak, and he could feel his totems calling to him as the Spark continued to inspire flight. Whatever this man was, North felt uneasy in his presence.

[Tio Silver]

Tio let out a sigh of disappointment when the stranger didn't fall for his little trick. Damn, that was no fun. He didn't try to fight or run away from him either, just stood there and calmly talked back. What was the world coming to when flying magical beings received such lukewarm responses? Since there seemed to be no point in keeping up the charade anymore he floated back down to the ground until his feet hovered just an inch or two above it. "Well that wasn't the response I was hoping for. Still kudos to you kid, not many people can keep such a cool head when dealing with magic." Which, come to think of it, made it rather suspicious why this man could. Tio called upon his attunement spark, feeding it ether and directing it to lock onto the stranger's frequency.

When the stranger, North as he introduced himself, finished talking Tio circled around him, eyeing him curiously. "You're right of course, I'm no spirit nor a local. Of course I'm not ghost, monster or man either, but two out of three isn't bad. But enough about me. You claim to be a defier as well, and pursuing another defier? Are you sure that's a good idea?" He paused in his circling as his attunement spark finished synchronizing with North's frequency and the notes began to play in his ear. Yes, there was definitely the notes of the Defiance spark there, and... oh, Transmogrification as well! "It is a rare thing for defiers to fight; to force a dear friend to attack another person they care for. Can you handle that? Or do you perhaps plan to defeat him purely with your shapeshifting prowess? The power that comes from flaying a living soul is not to be underestimated; you'll need a proper strategy if you want to stand a chance of defeating him."

Tio would have been lying if he said he didn't feel just a little bit guilty: after all it was partially his fault that so many mages across the world had recently become addicted to flaying, so he indirectly shouldered some of the blame for the death of the defier's wife. That being said however something about this whole situation gave him reason to pause. The wounded eye Cassion had gave him could see the words of destiny swirling around this young man like pale fireflies, signifying that he was one of those people who were fated for great things. Perhaps this mission was a part of his destiny? If so then it would be better to leave him to face this challenge alone and grow stronger from it rather than rob him of the opportunity.

"Very well then Norse, I'll help you." He decided at last. "But only with a bit of support. It will be up to you, and your spirit friend, to find and defeat this Eulysses. I'll simply guide you in the right direction. Sound fair?"

[Octopie]

Unlocking Your Rewards!

Comments

Tio pretending to be a ghost was my favorite, and made for a stark contrast to North's seriousness. I was very curious to were this was going, pity it never finished. For what it is, it's not bad so enjoy your rewards!

North Magnus, if you decide to come back, let me know and we can get your rewards up

Points

15

Can be use for magic? Yes or No

Knowledge

Skill
Attunement: The note of a Sev'ryn
Attunement: The note of a Becomer
Attunement: The note of a Defier
Attunement: Sensing people's presence
Defiance: Dramatic wind
Defiance: Pretending to be a spirit
Defiance: Great for dramatic entrances
Defiance: Great for trickery

Non
NA

Loot

NA

Wealth

NA

Renown

NA

Injuries

NA